The Lake House
by backstagespotlight
Summary: It's another Bug story! In this one, what if everything that happened in the show, Natalie, the Big Reveal, Sara leaving, actually happened but the Bugs were around... How would the Grissoms handle it? GSR I only own the Bugs.
1. Chapter 1

Grissom rushed home, hoping with every fiber of his being that Sara's letter didn't mean what it sounded like it meant. He found her in their daughters' room, cradling Caitlyn with tears streaming down her face. Without a moment's hesitation he rushed to her side, gently lifting her into his arms. He settled into the glider with Sara curled against his chest. He felt his own eyes grow hot as she began to sob.

"I can't do it, Gil," she whispered, "I can't stay, but I can't leave the kids. And I can't leave you. I love you." Grissom ran a comforting hand up and down her arm.

"I know you love me, Sara dear. The kids know that you love them. Take time off to be with them. Live in the daylight with their joyful innocence. Just, please, let me help you. I need to keep you close to me, Sara. Losing you for that night and that day, I can't handle that again."

"Gil," Sara said, "I want to stay. I've tried to stay. But my ghosts aren't here."

"Do what you can here, phone calls, emails, things like that, then we'll both take time, we'll go on a road trip. Together. As a family," he bargained.

"What about the team?" she asked.

"Let them think you've left. They'll leave you alone if they don't know you're still around," Grissom reasoned.

"Okay," she said, leaning up for a kiss.

"Right now," Grissom said, "Let's put the little one in her crib and get you some decent rest before the Saturday morning invasion." He was referring to their older children's tendency to rise early on weekends. Sara stood and safely tucked the six month old infant into her crib. They then snuggled under their comforter and fell asleep.

Just a few hours later, Sara awoke to find that Grissom had been replaced by two little dark haired angels. Surprisingly, both Sydle and Matthias were still sleeping peacefully. Sara smiled at them, reaching out and stroking their perfect faces. She planted kisses on each of their foreheads and rose. She found her husband in the kitchen, fixing breakfast. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed the back of his shoulder.

"Good morning, dear," he said, "Are you feeling any better?" She nodded slowly.

"A little," she admitted.

"I had a thought," Grissom said, turning in Sara's embrace, "The lake house." Sara raised an eyebrow and waited.

"The house my mother bought after she sold the art gallery out in L.A." he continued, "The one on the secluded bay on Lake Mead. You can take the kids, and I'll travel out there as often as I can. That way you can get away from here but not have to leave me and the kids. You could even start 

homeschooling Sydle if you wanted." Sara smiled a bit at that last statement. She considered the idea and gave a small nod, agreeing to the plan. Grissom felt his heart soar with relief. He kissed Sara gently on the forehead and turned back to breakfast. She heard Caitlyn begin to fuss and went to find her. She felt a true smile bubble up inside of her at the sight of her daughter's blue eyes and gummy smile. The baby reached up for her mother. Sara happily lifted her from the crib and carried her out into the living room. Sydle and Mattie came running as well. They leapt all over Sara as she sat down on the floor. The tickling match that ensued lasted until Grissom called them all to breakfast.

That afternoon, Grissom and Sara worked together to pack a few suitcases with enough belongings to last them a few weeks out at the lake house. They packed up the kids and the dog and headed out, stopping for groceries on the way. After an hour's drive, they turned into the secluded neighborhood on the lake in which their house sat, nestled behind a large willow tree. As soon as the car stopped, Sydle clicked open her booster seat and hopped down from the car. She ran to the tree, hiding beneath its branches. Sara pulled Caitlyn's car seat from its stand in the car while Grissom helped Mattie out of his booster. The little boy wiggled from his father's grasp and raced to join his sister, who was also his best friend in the world. Grissom then let the dog out of his kennel in the back of the truck, laughing as he ran to join the children.

Grissom and Sara strolled hand in hand toward the house. The sun was still shining strong, and the day was pleasant, so they opened the windows and let the fresh air chase the stuffiness from the house. They made up the beds, all the while keeping an eye out the window at the kids playing happily in the yard. They watched as Sydle threw a stick for Hank, then wrestled with him to get it back, only to throw it again, much to her little brother's delight. Grissom watched as they talked, easily able to 'hear' what they were 'saying' with their little hands.

Sara took Caitlyn from the carrier and walked out onto the porch with her. She settled herself onto the large swing and stared out across the yard. She felt the swing groan a little as Grissom joined her, and leaned back against him. He ran his fingers through her hair and she very nearly purred. They sat like that until the kids grew tired and whiney and they were ushered inside for nap time. Grissom then kissed Sara and headed back to Vegas for work. Sara sat down at the computer to write up a to-do list for getting rid of her ghosts. She finally had to pull the battery from her phone because of all the calls she was getting from the team.

--

Their system worked for a couple of months, until Grissom got sick. He'd taken Hank to Vegas for the night as a punishment for his children's disobedience. The tickle he'd felt in his throat during the drive to work bloomed during the night into a full-blown case of the flu. He barely made it back to the townhouse he'd bought for its proximity to the lab. He called Sara to explain and she whole-heartedly agreed that he should just rest up in Vegas.

"The kids will miss Hank," he said, coughing through the sentence.

"And you," Sara said, "But don't worry about us. You just get better. And ignore work for a while, okay?" He gave her his word and hung up the phone, falling into bed and oblivion in a single moment.

He awoke only a couple hours later to the ringing of his cell phone and the rumbling of his stomach. He decided to see if there were any groceries at all in the house before answering Ecklie's phone call. He ended up making a pot of chicken noodle soup and lying down on the sofa with Hank taking up watch by his side.

His sleep was disturbed several times and he was eventually dragged from the townhouse altogether by Catherine. He worked with only half of his capacity and still managed to catch the bad guys. He hauled himself up the stairs of his townhouse and onto the couch. When the phone rang again he considered ignoring it, but then looked at the caller ID. He lay back on the couch as he opened the phone.

"Hi," he said.

"You didn't do what I told you to," Sara said mock-sternly.

"I did try, dear," he argued just as mockingly.

"Well, there's a barbeque and Susan and Caleb's tomorrow night. If you're feeling up to it you should try to make it, since you have the night off."

"Okay," Grissom answered.

"Now," Sara ordered, "Sleep, my love."

"Yes, dear."

--

Sara smiled at Grissom as he walked across the lawn at the party. He was wearing khaki shorts and the blue polo she'd bought to match his eyes. _If only the team could see him now,_ she mused. The remnants of his illness were clear, but the sparkle in his eye showed that he had at least gotten a good deal of rest. Caitlyn giggled and reached out for her father as he approached. He reached for her and kissed Sara. He knelt down to let Hank off of the leash. The dog made a beeline for Mattie and Sydle who were thrilled to see him but didn't stop their playing to greet their father. Susan, their hostess approached them, arms extended for Caitlyn.

"I can't tell you enough how much of a blessing your family has been." Susan and Caleb were one of the few families who lived on the lake year-round and their twins, Emma and Elizabeth, had become fast friends with their new next door neighbors.

"Call 911!" Someone cried, breaking the calm mood of the party. Leaving Caitlyn with Susan, both Sara and Grissom ran to the water's edge. They found a teenager struggled to pull a body ashore.

"Leave it!" Grissom said as the teen pulled the young girl onto the sand. He asked everyone to step back and sent Sara to the car for his kit and the camera he kept in it. She asked Susan to take the youngest children inside. She watched to make sure they obeyed then turned to do her job. She handed Grissom the camera, then crouched to examine the body.

"She has to have been in this water at least a week," Sara said, holding a gloved hand to her nose.

"I agree," Grissom said, photographing the body. He turned to the teen who had recovered the body.

"We'll need those clothes, Patrick," he said. The teen nodded and stripped off his shirt. Out of instinct, Sara held out the paper bag, sealed and initialed it.

"Sara," Grissom scolded, breaking her out of CSI mode. She winced, and debated what to do. She looked at the label again and discovered that she'd used her married initials, _SG_. She handed the bag to Grissom, who turned the S into a sloppy looking G.

"You'd better get inside before you solve this case," he quipped.

"I think I'll keep you company for a little while," she said, "I've missed you, Gil." He looked up to find that she was studying him. He rose and kissed her gently, more intimately than his greeting only minutes before.

They had worked for almost forty-five minutes when they heard the first sirens. Sara gave Grissom a swift kiss on the cheek before handing over the notes she'd taken for him and slipping inside to track down her children. No sooner had the door closed behind her when Catherine and Nick came striding over. Nick chuckled at Grissom's appearance, while Catherine wondered at his presence there at all.

"Nick," he ordered, handing over the note pad, "keep taking these notes for me. Cath, you'd better get started on interviews. These people are getting tired and many of them have small children. They want to get home. Start with them." Each did as they were told.

Nick studied the notes that had already been taken.

"Who did you get to do these?" he asked, feeling like he recognized the writing.

"One of the people in attendance who had some training in forensics," Grissom offered vaguely.

"Why were you even here so fast?" Nick asked, trying to sound casual.

"My mom bought a house out here after she sold her art gallery in California. I like to come out here to relax. I got to know the neighbors and they invited me."

--

Meanwhile, Catherine was talking to Susan about what had happened.

"I'm going to need to interview your guests," she said. Susan nodded, still in shock. Her husband, Caleb, approached from behind, placing a hand on each shoulder. Susan jumped, then relaxed. Caleb nodded up to the clock, which showed it was half an hour past their daughters' bedtime.

"If you'll excuse me, Ms. Willows," Susan said, "I'll leave you in my husband's capable hands. I need to put my girls to bed." She turned and walked through the living room door to the playroom adjacent. Catherine saw her talking with someone else then they left through a second door.

"Mr. Ford," Catherine said, turning back.

"Caleb, please."

"Alright, Caleb. What did you see?"

"I was at the grill," Caleb said, remembering, "Gil had only just arrived and someone called out for someone to call 911. I ran inside and called."

"Can you give me the names of anyone who might have come in contact with the body?" Catherine asked.

"Sure," he looked around the room, "Patrick Dover was the one who found… it." He shuddered a bit at the thought

"Do any of your guests have previous training in forensics?" Catherine asked, wondering who would have the stomach to take Grissom's notes.

"Gil," he said, shrugged his shoulders to indicate that he knew the statement was unnecessary, "and Sara did something for the cops, but she never says anything."

Catherine started, but regained her composure.

"Can you tell me where I'd find Patrick and Sara? In the interest of time I'd like to interview them first." Caleb looked around, pointed out Patrick then looked for Sara.

"She must have gone upstairs to put her kids to bed with ours," he said. The spark of hope which had glimmered in Catherine's heart was doused in that instant. There was no way that Sara Sidle was the same Sara. She thanked Caleb, then turned to interview Patrick.

--

Sara lay Caitlyn down in the porta-crib Susan had dug out for her. She trailed a finger down the little baby's cheek and leaned down to say goodnight. Straightening up, Sara slipped from the room, shutting the door gently behind her. She tiptoed past the twins' room, where Emma and Elizabeth were snuggled into one bed and Sydle and Matthias shared the other. Sara slipped into the living room and 

hung back in a corner. She watched Catherine interrogate a group of teenagers, young Patrick Dover and his brother, Peter, among them. She settled in for a long wait.

--

Grissom and Nick processed outside in near silence. Grissom was startled when Nick jumped up suddenly. He spun around to see his little girl, Sydle, walking toward them, dressed in an oversized t-shirt.

"Sweetheart," Nick called, "You need to go back inside. You're not allowed past the yellow tape." Sydle didn't respond, just kept walking. Nick stood and crossed the scene to intercept her seconds before she crossed the tape, sweeping her into his arms. She woke at the contact and started screaming at the top of her lungs and kicking Nick.

"Whoa there, Sweetheart," Nick said, struggling, "You're okay."

"Daddy!" Sydle screamed, "Mommy! Daddy!" Grissom dropped what he was doing and rushed to his daughter's side. He took her from Nick and cradled her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tightened them to nearly a choke hold. Grissom eased back so he could look into her eyes. Her forehead was hot and her hair plastered to it with sweat. Tears trailed down her cheeks.

"You're okay, Butterfly," he assured her, "Remember, you're at Emma and Elizabeth's." She nodded slowly. Nick just looked on, stunned.

"Nick, keep processing the scene," Grissom ordered. He lifted the already drifting Sydle into his arms and carried her toward the house.

He stepped into the house and caught Sara's eye. She was startled but rose from her seat in the corner and came to take their daughter from him. Unfortunately, Catherine also noticed. Her jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide. She stormed over.

"You want to explain this?" she asked.

"Not with a frightened four year-old around," Grissom said, handing Sydle to Sara.

"She was sleepwalking again. You'll want to lock the back door," he added in a soft voice. Sara nodded. Catherine glared at him. Again, Grissom spoke.

"The case, Catherine. Explanations later." Grissom said.

--

Catherine and Grissom stood outside the morgue, waiting for David to set out the body for processing.

"What's her name?" Catherine asked suddenly.

"How should I know?" he asked, his mind still on the case.

"Well, she was stuck to you like cheese to a hamburger, and you used the word again when you talked to Sara about her sleepwalking," Catherine said.

"What did I say about the case, Catherine?" Grissom asked, reproachfully. Catherine shook her head and glared at him. David was ready with the body and so they entered to examine her.

The downdraft airflow system the lab had recently installed did little to contain the smell of decomp that clung to the air. The body in front of them was small, but bloated, the skin discolored. Her hair was long, but stringy and covered with mud. Age was hard to estimate because of her time in the water, but she seemed to be early in her teenage years. Catherine snapped the photos while Grissom collected trace. Catherine stayed mostly silent, barely saying two words to Grissom the whole time.

"Did I do something to upset you?" he asked. Catherine looked at him as though he'd grown a second head.

"Yes, Grissom," she said, "You're stonewalling me! I mean, here I am feeling sorry for you because Sara ran off, leaving you alone again, only to find out tonight that you knew where she was the whole time. Not only knew where she was, but judging by the semi-reasonable travel time, you probably go home to her almost every morning." Grissom's body language conceded that fact. Catherine continued her rant.

"And I find out that you two have a four year old daughter. I'm trying to be friendly and ask you about her, but you shut me out. What is her name?"

"Sydle," he admitted, "Sydle Rose. And actually, she's Sara's niece." Catherine nodded, convinced, and dropped the subject. She volunteered to carry their collected samples to trace while Grissom took the prints to Mandy.

Grissom sat in his office that evening staring ruefully at a photograph of his family. He loved tucking the kids into bed on his nights off. Sara usually entertained the older two with bedtime stories while he bathed and dressed Caitlyn. She was a happy baby, splashing around in the water, giggling away. After she was in bed, he'd tuck Mattie in, but not before playing a hand game or two by the light of his bedside lamp. Sydle was last, she'd snuggle in up to her chin and he'd read to her from whichever book they chose. Currently it was Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Then he'd turn out the light and recite a sonnet to her as she fell asleep. Then he always checked to make sure the doors were locked tight. Sydle's sleepwalking had presented itself three days after the move to the lake house when she somehow ended up walking into the lake. It was lucky that Sara and Grissom were both home at the time, as they had been taking a moonlight stroll, rather than sleeping. They had pulled her from the shallow waters and had been locking the door faithfully since.

--

_This has been on my computer and in the works for quite a while. (Like the day I finished "In His Daughter's Laughter" if that means anything.) I originally intended it to be a oneshot like that one, but my mind has other plans, it would seem._


	2. Chapter 2

"Brass," Nick broke the silence in the car as they drove back toward Vegas, "Did you know Grissom has a kid?"

The Capitan's answer was clear in his silence.

"What's her name?" Nick asked. It almost seemed like Brass wouldn't answer.

"How did you find that out?" he asked after a moment.

Nick let out a frustrated sigh.

"She sleepwalked into our crime scene. I accidently woke her up and just about scared the life out of her. You didn't answer my question," he added.

"Sydle Rose," Jim said, giving Nick the information he wanted. "She's four years old and beautiful. She is such a happy kid, a real sweetheart." Nick thought back to how she'd looked, fevered and sweaty and scared, and admitted that she was a remarkably beautiful child. Then Jim's words sank in and Nick turned to face him.

"Sydle as in Sara Sidle?" he asked.

"Spelled with a 'y', but I think that's the idea, yeah," Jim said back with a rough chuckle. Nick turned his attention back to the road with one final question.

"So, then, how long have those two been an item?"

--

The young girl lying on the morgue table was identified through her fingerprints as Kara Dillanger, age 13. Grissom and Catherine sat with her crying parents as they took in the news.

"Mr. Dillanger," Grissom said, "Why didn't you report Kara missing?"

"We didn't know she was. Kara was staying with my sister for a month. Where was she found?"

"Her body was found in Lake Mead, in the Harper's Grove area. Do you know anyone in that area at all?" Grissom asked. The couple shook their heads, but then Mrs. Dillanger paused.

"They were going water skiing. Kara couldn't wait. She was so excited," the woman broke down against her husband.

"We're going to need to contact your sister," Catherine said. Both the Dillangers nodded.

--

Catherine and Grissom strode up to the porch of a slightly run down house only three doors down from the Grissoms' house. Mattie and Sydle were out underneath the willow tree with Hank and Grissom turned, trying not to be noticed, but it was too late. Mattie came running and threw himself at Grissom's legs. Sydle was not far behind. Grissom smiled down at his son, running a hand over the boy's dark curls. Mattie raised his arms up, pleaded to be held by the father he hadn't seen for days. Grissom could not resist the urge to hug his son, so he lifted Mattie into his arms with a smile. Immediately, Mattie's hand found his father's heartbeat and his head hit Grissom's shoulder. The front door of their house flew open and Sara rushed out. Seeing the kids with Grissom, she became visibly less tense. Then she noticed Catherine and the uniforms that were with him and shook her head.

"Sydle Rose, get back over here!" she called, "and bring your brother too!" Sydle tugged on Mattie's foot to get his attention, but he merely lifted it from her grasp, wrapping it tighter to Grissom's side. A small thumb found its way to Mattie's mouth, but Grissom tapped him on the shoulder and turned his attention to Sara. The boy's mother signed something that made Mattie shake his head.

"Matthias," Grissom rumbled in a low voice, startling the boy, who turned his face upward.

"Listen to your mother," he said, the stern look on his face saying more to the toddler than his words. Little Mattie's bottom lip crept out from under his top lip and tears sparkled in his bright blue eyes, breaking Grissom's heart a bit. He gently set his son on the ground and crouched in front of him, looking him in the eye.

_I'll see you later, Dragonfly_ he signed, nudging the boy back. But Mattie stubbornly refused to let go. Sara strode over and lifted Matthias into her arms, carrying him back toward the house kicking and grunting.

"Well," Catherine said, "I don't think anyone's home." Grissom escaped from his stupor.

"I think you're right," he said, "but let's check around back, just in case. It's hard to hear the door bell from the dock."

"Personal experience?" Catherine asked, one eyebrow raised.

"If you must know, yes" Grissom admitted with a smirk. Catherine shook her head. They walked around to the back of the house and found the back door smashed in. Catherine cringed at the sound of glass crunching underneath her shoes as she stepped over the threshold.

"Las Vegas P.D." she called out hand on her holstered weapon. Grissom followed close behind. They stopped at the couch, where a body lay decomposing. The smell was almost overwhelming.

"She's likely been dead as long as Kara," Catherine said, "Begs the question, how did the neighbors not notice?" Grissom couldn't quite tell, but he was pretty sure the word 'neighbors' was said with a hint of malice and, he thought, a bit of hurt.

"Well, between earning her PI's license and taking care of three kids and a husband who has had more than his fair share of the bugs that get passed around the office, Sara hasn't really had time to get to know all the neighbors. Besides, this crime probably happened during a time when there wasn't anyone around," Grissom jumped to his wife's defense. Catherine just stared at him.

"Three kids, Gil?" she asked, "Why have I only met two of them?"

"Our youngest is probably napping right about now," he said, "and she was definitely sleeping when Sy wandered into our crime scene."

"She's not sleeping right now," Sara said from the doorway. She held the six month old infant in her arms. "Caitlyn, Catherine. Catherine, Caitlyn."

"Sara, what are you doing here?" Both criminalists asked.

"I came to borrow Gil," she said, "Just for a few minutes to see if you can get Mattie to calm down. He's going absolutely berserk . He won't calm down, he's running around the house like a madman, screaming and grunting and trying to get outside again. I'm just afraid he's going to hurt himself." The fear in Sara's voice was evident, as was exhaustion. Grissom crossed the room and pulled off his gloves before hugging Sara, surprising himself as much as her.

"Cath, I'll be right back," Grissom said, taking off for his own home, Sara following close behind. As soon as Grissom walked in the door, Mattie flew at him, fingernails digging into Grissom's flesh, drawing blood. Grissom winced as Mattie slapped him over and over. Sara had put the baby in her playpen and came back to help restrain Mattie. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders , holding the toddler to her chest, pinning him. Grissom held his head steady, forcing eye contact until he stopped struggling.

_What's wrong, Dragonfly?_ Grissom signed, as Sara ran a gentle hand through the boy's dark curls.

_Come home, Daddy_ the boy signed, _I'm scared_. Mattie surged forward and clung to his father.

"Shhh," Grissom soothed, rubbing Mattie's back. He felt tears soak through his shirt and looked up at Sara.

"Has he had trouble with nightmares?" he asked. Sara shook her head but then stopped.

"He's been wanting to sleep in our bed for almost a week. I've been letting him," she said.

"I'm going to call in and get Nick to cover for me," Grissom said, genuinely frightened. Mattie slowly stopped crying and his grip slackened as he fell into an exhausted slumber. Grissom slowly walked him up to his room and laid him in bed, tucking the covers tightly around his son. Then he sat next to Mattie and brushed a hand across his forehead.

"Do you think his had anything to do with the girl we found yesterday?" Sara asked from the doorway. Grissom was about to answer when he saw Sydle peeking around her mother's legs. He used his eyes to point her out. Sara looked down and jumped, surprised to see her daughter.

"Butterfly, baby," Sara said sweetly, "Your Daddy and I need to have a grown up talk. Can you go watch your sister for a little while?" The dark haired girl nodded and turned then took off skipping toward the living room, pigtails flying. Sara watched her, then turned back to Grissom. She looked so tired, and scared and fragile that it sent a shiver down Grissom's spine. He stood and pulled her to him, holding her as she shook.

"We've spent their whole lives protecting them, trying to keep them away from work, we've never brought a case file home and the kids don't even know that we carry guns," she said, in the low bitter tone that told him she was going to lose it.

"Sara," Grissom said, pulling back and forcing her to meet his eye, "There is nothing we could have done differently. We don't even know that this is related to that case. He probably just watched a scary movie or something. It's not your fault."

Sara tried to calm herself down. She breathed deeply and leaned in to her husband's embrace. As strong as she was, when something threatened or hurt her children, it hit Sara hard. Her children were her life, especially now that she'd left CSI.

"We can't do much while he's asleep," Grissom said, "Let's go talk to Sydle and see if she knows anything." Sara straightened up and wiped her tears.

"Let's go," she said, but Grissom shook his head.

"I haven't had a lot of time alone with Sydle since you guys came up here. You stay here with the younger ones, I'll take our little Butterfly out for ice cream." Sara nodded, knowing that Sydle, being the empathetic soul she was, would sense her mother's tension. Mattie became restless in his sleep. Sara crossed over and lay down next to him, smoothing hair out of his face. Grissom turned and headed to the living room, where he found Sydle playing with her little sister through the mesh sides of the playpen. Caitlyn giggled at the silly faces Sydle made.

"Hey, Ladybug," Grissom said, leaning over to kiss the infant's head. Then he turned to Sydle.

"Butterfly, do you want to go for ice cream?" he asked. Sydle tilted her head and looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow, a look which reminded him that while Sydle wasn't their daughter biologically, she was still a relative of Sara's.

"Why?" she asked.

"Just a little Daddy-Butterfly date," he said, "like we used to do before we moved." Sydle nodded, excited. She ran to get her shoes but then stopped.

"What about the baby?" she asked, "Can she come too?" Grissom shrugged.

"If you want her to come, she can come," he said, surprised.

"I do," Sydle said, flashing a smile before she went to get her shoes. Grissom smiled at her before he lifted Caitlyn from the playpen. She giggled at the contact, bringing a smile to his face. Sydle returned, breathless and blushing with her pink sandals on the wrong feet.

"Let's go, Daddy!" she said insistently, tugging on his arm. Grissom called up to Sara that he had both girls before Sydle pulled him from the house. He got the girls buckled into their car seas and put the keys in the ignition. Then he remembered that in all of the hustle, he'd forgotten to call Nick to come in to help Catherine. He quickly did so, then drove to the family's favorite ice cream shop. Sydle ordered a cotton candy flavored cone and Grissom stuck to pure vanilla. They settled on eating at the outside patio and Sydle's face was soon smeared with pink melted ice cream. Grissom smiled and wiped some of it off.

"Is Mattie going to be okay?" Sydle asked, suddenly.

"I think so," Grissom answered, "Why do you ask?"

"He's been having nightmares since Kara was here," Sydle observed matter-of-factly.

"Who's Kara?" Grissom asked, trying to keep his voice light as his heart sank.

"She's Mattie's girlfriend."


	3. Chapter 3

Sara moved around the house as Mattie slept, cleaning the mess he'd created during his tantrum. She walked past his room every two minutes, often stopping just to watch him as he slept. She smiled as he pulled his right hand up and tucked it underneath his chin. Content that he wasn't suffering from nightmares, Sara headed back to the playroom. She spent the next few minutes gathering toys and depositing them in their respective places. Sydle's favorite doll was placed gently in the toy cradle she'd received for her last birthday. Several matchbox cars found their home in the corner and a treasured teddy bear came to rest safely in baby Caitlyn's play pen.

She was collecting the myriad of dirty socks that had accumulated in the room when the doorbell rang. She hurried to answer it, tossing the socks into the laundry hamper as she went. She was surprised to see Nick at the door with a pair of uniform cops. He was clearly just as surprised to see her. He recovered from the shock before she did and pulled her into a hug, dismissing the uniforms to continue their neighborhood canvass.

"It's so good to see you, Sara!" Nick exclaimed. He stepped back to look at her. "You look really good."

She had gained back a little of the weight that she'd lost after her ordeal, making her look healthier, less waif-like. Hours in the sunlight had tanned her skin, a change which was emphasized by the shorts she was wearing. Her face was relaxed, though she showed some signs of worry around her eyes.

"Thanks, Nicky," she said, "You don't look so bad yourself." They stood in a slightly awkward silence, but only for a moment, as young Mattie crashed into the back of Sara's legs, throwing her off balance and nearly forcing her to the ground. His eyes were wide and his breathing heavy as he tried to scale her legs. Sara lifted the boy into her arms and his little hands grabbed at her shirt before they started working their way around her neck. She grabbed his chin in her right hand and gently made him look at her.

"You're okay, Dragonfly," she said, dragging out the words so she knew he would understand. Matthias was already learning to recognize a few words through lip reading and 'okay' was one of them. Sara released her son's face and pressed it comfortingly to her shoulder. Nick looked on, concerned but staying silent. Sara motioned for him to follow her into the front living room. He sat down on the couch, while Sara chose a wooden rocking chair. She positioned Mattie on her lap so his head rested against her shoulder. She gently rocked back and forth while Mattie stared at Nick nervously. Sara caught his attention and finger-spelled Nick's name and the sign for 'uncle.' Mattie nodded and relaxed, closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep. Nick just stared.

"Nick, this has to be confusing," Sara started.

"A little," Nick admitted, studying a photo on the end table. Three happy kids smiled back at him from their parents' arms. Grissom held their little boy and Sydle rested between the two adults. Most surprising to him was the smiling baby girl resting on Sara's arm. She was less than a year old, with dark brown curls and brilliant blue eyes.

"You are a beautiful family," Nick said. Sara smiled.

"Thank you," she said, "We like to think so."

"I know your oldest girl is named Sydle," Nick offered, "and you call this handsome young man Dragonfly." Sara chuckled.

"This is Matthias. And our littlest one is Caitlyn Nicole," she explained, "They've all got nicknames, ever since we first met Sydle."

"First_ met_ her?" Nick asked.

"She's adopted," Sara said, "Gil and I had been dating for six months when we got the news that my brother had died. There was no one to take his little girl. She was only four months old and so Gil and I agreed that we could handle the responsibility. It was easier with the legal process for us to get married, and since he had already proposed at least twice, we got married after shift that day. After about a year we found out that we were pregnant with Matthias."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nick asked, hurt. For the first time Sara thought about the impact that the secrecy had on the family that had formed over the years of working together.

"We wanted to, especially after we found out about Katie, but we never found the right time. We were so wrapped up in various cases and everyone seemed to have their own problems. Warrick's marriage was falling apart, it wasn't like we could just say, 'Sorry about your life, but hey, we're living together, happily married and we have three kids.'" Nick chuckled at that.

"The important thing is that you know now," Sara declared. Nick nodded, and stood to leave. Sara moved to do the same, but Nick placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her seated. He ran a gentle hand over Mattie's curls and smiled.

"I'm looking forward to watching him grow up," the man whispered. Sara smiled.

"Thanks for understanding, Nick," she said, "I'd imagine you're going to be a big hit."

--

At the ice cream parlor, Grissom listened as Sydle explained how she, Mattie, Emma and Elizabeth had met Kara the week before after watching her water ski around the lake. The young girl had apparently played on the beach with the younger kids while Susan watched them. In the course of the interview with Kara's parents Gil had learned that her best friend had suddenly and tragically lost her hearing because of a swimming accident, and, as a result, Kara was fluent in ASL. The way Sydle told it, Mattie had latched on to Kara, eventually asking her, as any two year-old in his situation would do, to be his girlfriend. Rather than blow him off, Kara agreed to the plan. Eventually, she'd been summoned back to her aunt and Mattie had been called inside for his nap. It was the last the two had interacted. More troubling was the fact that, if Susan confirmed Sydle's timeline, it was the last time anyone had seen Kara Dillanger alive.

--

Later that night, Sara and Gil sat in the dimly lit family room. He sat with one arm resting on the arm of the couch, the other was draped around his wife, who was leaning up against him, her legs stretched out in front of her. Gil had retold the story to Sara after the kids had gone to bed. She hadn't said a word since he finished, just sat, idly running her fingers along his.

"What if he saw something?" she asked, sitting up and turning so she could look him in the eye. That would explain everything, the nightmares, the fear of sleeping in his own bed, his desperate need to have you around. He saw something happen to Kara and he's terrified they'll come back for him!" Sara was working herself into a panic. Gil pulled her closer and rubbed her back while he whispered for her to calm down. She tried to breathe deeply, but could only manage shallow gasps. If she kept it up for too long she'd start to hyperventilate, so Gil did the only thing he could think of. Leaning down, he captured her lips with his, forcing her to concentrate of something else and not let her 'what-if's take control. It worked, and soon, Sara was breathing normally.

"We can't do anything until tomorrow," Gil reminded her. Sara nodded.

"I guess I'm a little more on edge than usual since I found a current address for my mom today," she said. Gil tensed, unsure whether Sara considered this a good or bad revelation.

"Really?" he asked, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. Sara nodded, pulling a slip of printer paper from the pocket of her shorts.

"She moved to Vegas last year," she said, "She lives in one of those apartment complexes just off the strip. She moved in while we were on sabbatical at Harvard. I spoke with her PI. She was looking for me."

"Did you tell the PI who you were?" Gil asked. Sara shook her head.

"I told her I was Kathleen Grissom, a PI hired by Sara Sidle to find her," she said. The statement wasn't a total lie as Kathleen was Sara's middle name.

"What are you going to do?" he asked. Sara shook her head.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. Gil ran his hands through her hair.

"We can decide that in the morning, too," he offered. Sara was never more happy to accept.

--

_Did you think I'd left fanfiction for good? It's been so long since I had the motivation to sit down and write anything, and even then, I was more motivated to write my own personal story than more of my fics. I really need inspiration and ideas, so anything you have on any of my WIPs is greatly appreciated, whether I end up using it or not._


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